Benchmade Introduces Two New Folders

Benchmade revealed two new knives today, the 756 mPR and the 486 Saibu. Both offerings play into popular concepts in the knife world today. Benchmade’s Derrick Lau tells us that while the company doesn’t chase fads, its team knows how to take fresh approaches to these enduring concepts. “Our Product Line Management Team is very diligent and cognizant of what’s going on. They have their fingers on the pulse.”

756 mPR
When Benchmade teased the new knives earlier this week, fans began to speculate they were bringing back the Shane Sibert-designed MPR, or Mini Pocket Rocket. The 756 mPR (which stands for Micro Pocket Rocket) is another Sibert design, and takes the overbuilt style of the original MPR into an even smaller, thinner size class. It implements a caged bearing flipper, 1.87-inch blade, and a 3.5 oz. weight, making it two full ounces lighter than its predecessor.

“It’s not heavy for its size because it’s all titanium. It’s also amazing to have a flipper in a knife this small,” Lau says of theMonolock mPR, which is not only the tiniest flipper in their current lineup, but has the shortest blade length as well. The titanium scales are accented with a blue pivot collar, barrel spacers, and pocket clip. Blade steel is also premium, with Benchmade choosing 20CV over their now-standard S30V.

486 Saibu
The Saibu is the latest Benchmade collaboration with Seiichi Nakamura, who is responsible for several previous offerings, most recently the 484. “He’s very methodical, meticulous, and all about detail. He’s an awesome partner to work with,” says Lau. Nakamura took inspiration from Japanese architecture, emulating the look of bamboo on the sculpted backspacer and playing with cocobolo wood-lined cutouts on the scales. “There’s a unique flair to it, as there is with anything from Nakamura,” Lau tells us.

Nakamura’s touch goes beyond the visual element, though. “It’s gent-esque, but bigger than your usual gentleman’s folder,” Lau notes. A simple, 2.9-inch drop point blade will accomplish most cutting tasks with ease, and hold an edge for a long time thanks to 20CV steel. Nakamura invented the Nak-Lock, a modified liner lock that operates via a button, and has implemented it on past Benchmade collabs. But for the Saibu he and the Benchmade team opted for the Axis Lock, with deployment via wood-accented thumb studs.

Both the Saibu and the mPR will be available later this year with MSRPs of $250 and $400 respectively.

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